How Rochas Okorocha the Governor of Imo State Is Islamising the Igbos

486 B’Haram suspects arrested in Abia State

JUNE 17, 2014 BY EMMA ANYA, EVEREST AMAEFULE, CHUKWUDI AKASIKE, OLALEKAN ADETAYO, IHUOMA CHIEDOZIE AND OZIOMA UBABUKOH 

A cross-section of the suspected Boko Haram insurgents arrested in Abia State... on Monday
| credits: Abia Government House

There was heightened fear in parts of the South-East on Monday as news spread that hundreds of persons suspected to be Boko Haram members were arrested in Abia State.

The suspects, including eight women, were said to have been arrested along the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway by soldiers attached to the 144 Battalion of the Nigerian Army, Asa in the Ukwa West Local Government Area on Sunday.

Their arrest occurred some hours after security operatives detonated improvised explosive devices planted on the premises of a branch of the Living Faith World Bible Church (a.k.a. Winners Chapel) in Owerri, Imo State.

Before the Commander of the 144 Battalion, Lt. Col. Rasheed Omolori, announced the suspects’ arrest, the South-East governors vowed after paying a solidarity visit to President Goodluck Jonathan   in Abuja that they would not allow Boko Haram to attack the zone.

Omolori had told journalists at a news conference that his men intercepted a convoy of 33 buses conveying 486 suspected insurgents aged between 16 and 24 around 3am on Sunday.

The suspects, according to him,   claimed to have come from different parts of the North in search of jobs.

He added that two of the 33 buses escaped with their occupants and that the incident had been reported to the Defence Headquarters in Abuja.

The Abia State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Dr. Eze Chikamnayo, who was at the briefing alongside the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Charles Ajunwa, said the large number of vehicles conveying the suspects made the soldiers suspicious.

Wondering how such a long motorcade could not be intercepted by security personnel until it reached Abia State, Chikamnayo said it was also baffling that   none of the suspects was able to identify the location they were heading for.

He however said that the Army and other security agencies in the state were working to uncover the actual mission of the suspects and those behind their movement.

The commissioner advised every state to work hand-in-hand with their security personnel to check insurgency in the country.

“Every security problem is local and if we handle it locally it will be nipped in the bud,” he said.

In Abuja, the South-East governors told State House correspondents   that they were   prepared to avert any plot by Boko Haram to attack the zone.

Governor Willy Obiano of Anambra State, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues said, “They (Boko Haram) can’t get there (South-East). I can assure you of that. We will not allow that to happen.

“I can’t tell you in any material details about bombs found or not found. All I can assure you is that we are on the alert in the South-East and we are watching what is going on.

“I can assure you that Boko Haram cannot come to the South-East.”

Obiano said the governors decided to meet with Jonathan to assure him of their support as he faces the challenges of nation-building.

He claimed that the President was under immense pressure and that some unnamed persons were making his work more tedious.

But the governor did not name such people “adding kerosene to fire” instead of supporting the President to take the nation out of the woods.

He said, “The President is a human being and he is under a lot of pressure and some other people are making his work a lot more difficult.

“But we are here to tell him that we are here supporting him and that he should count on us.”

Other governors who attended the meeting are Theodore Orji of Abia State; Martins Elechi, Ebonyi   and Sullivan Chime, Enugu.

Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha whose domain the Sunday tragedy was averted was however absent from the meeting with Jonathan.

Okorocha later explained through his Chief Press Secretary, Sam Onwuemeodo, that his absence was not intentional.

He said he had a more important meeting to attend with the security chiefs in the state.

He added, “After the meeting with the security chiefs, there was an expanded meeting with the vigilante members and other local security groups in the state.

“All the meetings we had were to ensure that we do not give room for criminals to infiltrate the state and cause harm or damage. We had to check and mount heavy security presence on our borders rather than go to Abuja.

“Under normal circumstances, the South-East governors should have come here or even issue a press release.”

Okorocha wondered why his absence from the meeting should be an issue.

He said he only returned to Owerri on Sunday after attending the national convention of the All Progressives Congress and that it was only proper he attended to the pressing security challenges “at   home rather than jump off to Abuja again.”

The governor advised that “the issue of Boko Haram should be seen as a war declared against the country.”

“We should all fight against it( insurgency) collectively instead of politicising it or trading blames,”Okorocha said.

Okorocha has however initiated a programme known as ‘Know your Neighbour,’ to make the people of the state to become security conscious and share information that could help in forestalling any attack by Boko Haram and other criminals.

The State Commissioner for Information, Dr. Theo Ekechi, said the programme was launched during a stakeholders’ meeting on   Monday.

The state Commissioner of Police, the head of Civil Defence, paramilitary personnel teachers, leaders of commercial tricycle union   and all members of the state executive council were present at the   meeting.

He said, “If we all take security as our personal responsibility, we are not going to be oblivious of what is happening around us. We should always be on the alert and know what is happening around us.

“We formally launched a programme that is called Know Your Neighbour, which is intended to help all of us become vigilante personnel.

“It means everybody in Imo State will become a vigilante member and we will get information and share telephone numbers that are available in the public domain in case there is any alert.

“It was also agreed that it was through information that the explosives planted in a church were uncovered. There may have been suspicion; there may have been some infiltration.”

Explaining that it was natural for people to be afraid after such an incident, the commissioner added that the people of the state had already been told to go about their business without fear   since normalcy had returned to the state.

However, the Igbo Leaders of Thought, an association of Igbo socio-political leaders, had on Monday accused the police of shielding the six “northerners”, arrested in connection   with the Owerri incident.

The group, in a statement by its Deputy Secretary, Eliot Uko, said the failure of the police to   parade the suspects was a pointer to its claim.

The statement read in part, “We condemn the refusal of the Imo Commissioner of Police to parade the arrested Boko Haram fighters who attempted to plant bombs in an Owerri church last weekend.

“The six fighters, said to be northerners by eyewitnesses,confessed they had a mandate to bomb five churches in Owerri. They are being shielded, a sharp contrast to the humiliation the police gave pro-Biafran activists in Enugu penultimate week by parading them naked to complete their humiliation.

“Ndigbo are keenly watching developments as they unfold.”

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Andrew Enwerem, told The PUNCH on Monday that the command would not parade the suspects because it could jeopardise ongoing   investigations into the matter.

He explained that the investigation was aimed at ascertaining the motive behind the   botched attack   and the actual culprits and sponsors.

Enwerem said, “We are not parading the suspects because we do not want anything that will hinder the success of our investigation. Normalcy has returned to Owerri and members of the public are going about their business without   fear.

“They have been assured of their safety and there is no problem. The objective for the investigation is to know the motive behind the planting of explosives and the actual culprits behind it.”

The Police authorities in Abuja   warned on Monday that it was   too early to link the Owerri bomb incident to Boko Haram.

The spokesman for the police, Frank Mbah, said at a news conference chaired by the Director General of National Orientation Agency, Mr. Mike Omeri, on Monday that it would be premature to point fingers until investigation into the incident had been concluded.

He said, “The media and citizens should not be in a hurry to link the Owerri incident to the established terror cells that we already know.

“Until the full identities of those behind that incident are made public (or are known to security forces); until their motives are established; it will be too pre-emptive for us to give it the toga of terrorism.

“It could be anything. For us in the security world, we are leaving all our options open and we are ready to test all hypotheses.”

Omeri, who spoke on other security issues, also   disclosed that the report of the fact-finding committee set up by President Goodluck Jonathan to investigate the   abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls would be submitted next week.

He appealed to   “Nigerians and the international community for more understanding and patience in the determined efforts to rescue the girls.”

On the extradition of Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche, the mastermind of the April 14 bomb blast in Nyanya near Abuja,   Omeri said the delay   was not abnormal as necessary processes needed to be completed.

He said, “On Ogwuche, delays in matters like this are not unexpected. Since officers and officials are on top of this matter, discussing and fulfilling the conditions; let us await the outcome. If at the end of the day Ogwuche is not brought back, we will come and tell you.

“You are aware that the processes have commenced. There has been a court process; there has been a police process; there has been a diplomatic process and so on. We are still in order; nothing has gone wrong.”

The NOA chief also said that a Lebanese, Khaleel Diyab, who was abducted by gunmen   in Langtang,   Plateau State “was last night (Sunday) freed through the efforts of security forces.”

Diyab, who was reported by the media to be a Briton, works with Retro Construction Company.

When asked question on the offer of former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, that he could help to rescue the abducted Chibok girls, Omeri said he (Obasanjo) , as a free citizen, was   “ free to do the things he is doing.”

http://www.punchng.com/news/486-bharam-suspects-arrested-in-abia-state/

Boko Haram: Again, MASSOB advises Ndigbo to return home

Boko Haram: Again, MASSOB advises Ndigbo to

 return home

on May 27, 2014   /   i

BY NWABUEZE OKONKWO

ONITSHA – As the dreaded Boko Haram sects continues to massacre innocent Nigerians in the North Eastern part of the country, the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, yesterday , for the second time warned Igbo resident there to return home or remain in the north at their own peril

Sounding this note of warning in Onitsha, Anambra State, the MASSOB National Red Cross Chairman, Engr. Osondu Okwaraeke recalled that prior to the peak of the killings, the MASSOB leader, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike had urged Igbo resident in the volatile area of the north to return home, adding that wazuruike even went as far as providing transport and other logistics to them for easier evacuation.

According to him, “so, no sympathy for victims of Boko Haram because a stitch in time saves nine”.

Commending Uwazuruike for the assistance, Okwaraeke also recalled that Uwazuruike, as a true Igbo leader had equally donated materials and food items to 2012 flood victims at Aguleri, including drugs, shelter, food, water and security.

He emphasized that Uwazurike had specifically sent about 200 luxury buses to our people in the north to bring them back because of the killing of people by the terrorists, yet many of them did not return and some of those who returned, later went back to the north, thinking that the war had ended.

He therefore called on the United Nations, Catholic Pontiff, Israel and other world leaders to come to the rescue of MASSOB to help actualize Biafra Republic.

Also contributing, the MASSOB Director of Sanitation in Ekwusigo Region, Chief Emma Dinyelu urged all members to ensure the cleanliness of their regions on 29 May 2014, (Biafra Heroes’) Day celebrations which is scheduled for May 30, 2014, adding that Biafra is a clean nation and as such should be kept clean always.

- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/05/boko-haram-massob-advises-ndigbo-return-home/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook#sthash.qvd1mV75.dpuf

Re-inventing Igbo politics in Nigeria

on March 04, 2014   /   in Femi Aribisala 1:22 am 

AMONG the different ethnic groups in Nigeria, the Igbo are without a doubt, one of the most remarkable.  So remarkable, indeed, that some have even traced their ancestry to biblical Israel, as the far-flung descendants of Jacob, the Jewish patriarch.  Gad, Jacob’s seventh son, is said to have had three sons who settled in South-eastern Nigeria.

These sons; Eri, Arodi and Areli, are believed to have fathered clans in Igbo-land and to have founded such Igbo towns as Aguleri, Arochukwu, Owerri and Umuleri.

Igbo genius

Even the bitterest adversaries of the Igbo cannot but admit that, as a people, they are very resourceful and ingenious.  Indeed, this has often been the cause of their envy and dislike by others.  However, more enlightened non-Igbo Nigerians see this as a cause for celebration.  While today, the centre-point of Nigeria’s manufacturing is situated in the Lagos/Ogun axis, there is no doubt that the real locomotive of Nigeria’s indigenous industrialization lies farther afield in Aba and in the mushrooming cottage-industries of the Igbo heartland.

In one of the paradoxes of Nigerian history, the terrible civil war provoked homespun industrialization in the South-East.  Military blockade left the Igbo with little alternative than to be inventive in a hurry.  While Nigeria as a nation failed woefully to harness this profitably after the war, it has nevertheless ensured that the Igbo are at the forefront of Nigeria’s economic development today.

Indeed, the way we disregard “made in Aba” today is the same way we disregarded “made in Japan” yesterday.  For those of us who believe against the odds that Nigeria is the China of tomorrow, we equally recognize that the ingenuity of the Igbo is an indelible part of the actualization of that manifest destiny.

Hall of fame

The Igbo have been a great credit to Nigeria.  They have given us a great number of our favourite sons, including international statesman Nnamdi Azikiwe; military leader Odumegwu Ojukwu; regional leader Michael Okpara; vice-president Alex Ekwueme; mathematical genius Chike Obi; literary icon Chinua Achebe; world-class economist Pius Okigbo; world boxing champion Dick Tiger; international statesman Emeka Anyaoku; and world-class artist Ben Enwonwu.  Permit me to include in this illustrious list even some of my very good Igbo friends: Pat Utomi, Ojo Madueke, Olisa Agbakoba, Joy Ogwu, and Stanley Macebuh.

Let us get one thing straight: Nigeria would be a much poorer country without the Igbo.  Indeed, Nigeria would not be Nigeria without them.  Can you imagine the Super Eagles without the Igbo?  Not likely!  Who can forget Nwankwo Kanu, Jay Kay Okocha and our very own Emmanuel Amuneke?

Can you imagine Nollywood without the Igbo?  Impossible!  Just think of Stella Damascus-Aboderin; Rita Dominic and Mike Ezuruonye.  And then there are the diaspora Igbo who many are unaware are of Igbo descent, including concert singer and actor Paul Robeson; Oscar award-winner Forest Whitaker; mega-pastor T.D. Jakes; Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu; and BAFTA actor award-winner Chiwetel Ejiofor.

You may well wonder why I have found it necessary to present this small litany of Igbo who-is-who.  I think it is important to emphasise how the Igbo have been very vital to the Nigerian project.  They have more than represented Nigeria creditably in virtually all walks of life.  This makes it all the more absurd that this same people have been consistently denied the position of executive president of the country in all but six months of Nigeria’s 54 year history.

Civil-war legacy

Of course, a major reason for this was the 1967-1970 civil-war which had the Igbo on the losing side.  But that was over 40 years ago.  If there is really to be “no victor, no vanquished” in anything more than mere rhetoric, then the rehabilitation of the Igbo back into post civil-war Nigeria will not be complete until an Igbo man finally becomes president of the country.

That imperative should be of interest to every Nigerian nationalist, committed to the creation of one Nigeria where everyone has a deep sense of belonging.  The problem, however, is that the Igbo themselves seem to be their own worst enemies in this regard.  They appear to be doing their very best to ensure that this inevitable eventuality continues to be denied and delayed.

The Igbo need to forgive Nigerians.  No one who lived through the horrors that precipitated the secession of Biafra and led to the civil-war cannot but admit that the Igbo were abused and maltreated in one of the worst pogroms ever.  It was not just that they were senselessly massacred in their own country; it was that they were butchered.

I remember vividly gory pictures of scores and scores of the Igbo with hands chopped up and with legs amputated.  And then there were the ravages of the three-year civil-war itself, resulting in the death of millions of Igbo; many through starvation and attrition.

The end of the war brought no respite, as the Igbo were pauperized by fiscal decrees that wiped out their savings and their properties were blatantly sequestered by opportunists.  All this is more than enough to destroy the spirit of any group of people.  But God has been on the side of the Igbo.

It is a testament to their resilience that, in spite of this terrible affliction, they have survived, bounced back and have even triumphed in Nigeria.  Forty years have now gone by.  The Igbo may never forget what happened to them and, indeed, should never forget.  But it is past time for them to forgive.

We are sorry

This is one voice in the Nigerian wilderness saying to the Igbo from the depth of his heart: we are sorry.  We are sorry for the way we mistreated you.  We are sorry for the way we abused you.  We are sorry for starving your children to death.  We are sorry for killing your loved ones.  We are sorry for stealing your properties.

We are sorry for making you feel unwanted in your own country.  Please forgive us.  It is time to forgive us.  It is way past time for the Igbo to forgive Nigerians.  We beg you in the name of God.

There was a civil war in the United States, but the defeated South rose from the ashes.  Five of the last nine presidents of the United States have been from the South, including Jimmy Carter from Georgia, George Bush from Texas and Bill Clinton from Arkansas.  The time is overdue for an Igbo president of Nigeria, but it is not going to happen as long as the Igbo continue to hold a grudge against Nigeria and Nigerians.

There is no question about it: the Igbos cannot elect a president of Nigeria on their own.  To do so, they have to join forces with others.   They have to form alliances with people from other parts of Nigeria.  That is not going to happen as long as the Igbo continue to bear a grudge against practically everybody else.

The Igbo have a gripe against virtually all the people they need.  They have this tendency to antagonise their possible alliance partners.  They keep dredging up the past, refusing to let sleeping dogs lie.  Until they drop these gripes, they are not likely to realise their dreams.

Demonising Yorubas

For example, the Igbo have this tendency to demonise the Yorubas.  It is alarming when reading the Vanguard blogs today to see the animosity often expressed between Igbo and Yoruba contributors.  The hatred is most unhealthy.  Insults are traded with abandon.  What is the point of this?  For how long will the Igbo demand emotional retribution from every Yoruba for the betrayal of Awolowo?  Most of the contributors were not even born when the civil-war took place more than a generation ago.

There is now even transferred aggression against Babatunde Fashola, who made the blunder of repatriating some destitute Igbo from Lagos back to their home-states.  The man has apologised for the infraction.  He should be forgiven.  Blunders are not the exclusive preserve of the non-Igbo.  The Igbo have made more than a few themselves and will yet make others.

Paradoxically, the redemption of the Igbos to prominent national office moved apace under President Obasanjo; a Yoruba man.  Recognising that Igbos are some of the most seasoned, competent and experienced public-servants, Obasanjo relied heavily on their expertise.

Thanks to him, we got Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at Finance, Charles Soludo at Central Bank, Obiageli Ezekwesili at Education, Ndidi Okereke at the Stock Exchange, and Dora Akunyili at NAFDAC.  Indeed, Igbo statesmen came into more prominence under Obasanjo than did Yoruba statesmen.  But for some strange reason, this does not seem to have succeeded in assuaging the ill-feeling of the Igbos toward the Yorubas.

Bad politicians

Within the framework of Nigerian politics, the Igbo also have a fundamental problem.  Out of the three major ethnic groups in Nigeria, the Igbo have by far the worst politicians.  They have no recognizable leaders, and have no discernible strategy as to how to negotiate power at the centre.  As a result, the Igbo have tended to be short-changed at the federal level.  Traditionally, the inconsequential ministries, such as the Ministry of Information, have been zoned to them.

The Igbo need to work out a plan that will take them to Aso Rock.  First, they need to choose and groom a de-tribalised leader of the Azikiwe mould who can be sold to non-Igbos.  Then, they need to give him undiluted support.  At the moment the internal politics of the Igbo militates against this.  The Igbo seem to hate themselves as much as they hate others.  They seem to fight themselves with as much venom as they fight others.  Every potential Igbo leader seems to have more enemies within than without.  This must not be allowed to continue.

The Igbo need to help themselves in order that their friends can help them.  In this centenary of Nigeria’s amalgamation, as we embark on the arduous process of crafting our future through a National Conference, we salute the Igbo for their fortitude and implore them to stake their claim in Nigeria.  Nigeria cannot survive without the Igbo.

- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/03/re-inventing-igbo-politics-in-nigeria/#sthash.W2xRGlQH.dpuf

University to make Igbo language compulsory course

University to make Igbo language compulsory course for all students

on December 29, 2013   /  

Prof. Ihechukwu Madubuike, Director, Igbo Renaissance at the Gregory University, Uturu (GUU), Abia, said on Saturday that the university would soon introduce the Igbo language as a compulsory course in the second year.

Madubuike announced this at Uturu during the 6th edition of the Igbo (Uturu) Cultural Carnival, which held at the university.

“By the next two years, the university plans to introduce the Igbo language as a compulsory subject for all students in the second year.

“Whether you are Yoruba, Hausa or Efik, you must take Igbo as a compulsory subject, in spite of your area of specialisation,’’ he said.

Madubuike described the Igbo language as the ‘’soul of the culture of Ndigbo,’’ adding that the disappearance of the language would mean the ultimate death of the culture.

Earlier, the traditional ruler of Oko in Anambra state, Igwe Laz Ekwueme, called for concerted efforts by people of the South-East to save the Igbo language from going extinct.

Ekwueme, who was the chairman of the carnival, expressed regret that the Igbo language was under serious threat, due to the decline in its usage as a means of communication in various families.

He noted that many families of Igbo origin preferred to communicate in foreign languages, especially the English language, with their children.

“More often, nowadays, you find many parents communicating with their children and relations in the English language, rather than the Igbo language,’’ he said.

Ekwueme regretted that the development was capable of endangering the Igbo language, if not promptly checked.

The monarch, who was a former Minister of Education, commended the Chancellor of the University, Dr. Greg Ibe, for initiating the carnival.

“Anything that is done to encourage the sustenance of the Igbo language and culture would be encouraged,” he said.

Ekwueme noted that the event would add value to similar efforts designed to re-establish and reinforce the Igbo culture.

He urged governors in the zone to rally support toward the sustenance of the culture and the language of Ndigbo by identifying with the carnival.

Prof. Barth Chukwuezi, a director in the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, expressed delight that the Igbo cultural heritage and artefacts could be found in abundance in Uturu.

Chukwuezi, who is the Head, Educational Services and Training, said that the commission often encouraged the people to communicate in their native languages during its outreach programmes.

He noted that the Igbo language ranked among the few native languages in the country facing serious threats of possible extinction and called for urgent steps to stem the tide.

“Once a people’s language and culture go extinct, then the people literally cease to exist,’’ Chukwuezi said.

He advised parents to encourage the use of the Igbo language in their homes, as a major means of communication with their offspring, to save the language from dying.

The initiator and sponsor of the carnival said that the objective of the yearly event was to provide a platform for the transmission of Igbo culture from one generation to another, among others.

He said that the theme of this year’s carnival: ‘’Ibu anyi danda’’ (meaning ‘’resilience and the indomitable spirit’’) of Ndigbo, underscored the numerous challenges and struggles faced by the Igbo man.

Ibe noted that God had always rewarded the Igbo man with huge success in his vocations and determination to succeed in life.

The Chancellor explained that the ceremony was organised as ‘’our contribution to the cultural heritage of mankind‘’.

He described the celebration of a people’s culture as ‘’the celebration of their history, civilisation and the totality of their way of life’’.

The lecture on the theme was delivered by a renowned author and publisher, Mr Chinedum Ofomata.

Highlights of the ceremony included cultural dances by various dance groups from 16 states of the federation.

Different kinds of masquerades, including ‘’Ijele’’ and ‘’Atu’’ from Anambra, took turns to perform at the event, which attracted a large crowd from within and outside the country. (NAN)

“I get am before” no be property.

Igbo scholar disgraces Femi Fani-Kayode •Demolishes claims on Igbo/Yoruba history with facts and figures

By News Express on 17/08/2013


An Igbo scholar, Dr. Samuel Okafor, has made one-time Aviation Minister, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, look so small and uneducated by using facts and figures to demolish the claims he made in the controversial August 8 article, “The Bitter Truth About The Igbo”, which set off a storm that almost threatened Igbo-Yoruba relations.
In the first part of an article entitled “The Lies of Femi Fani-Kayode”, Okafor, who has a First Class in History from the University of Nigeria Nsukka and then did a Ph.D in Nsukka on scholarship, dismissed Fani-Kayode as a “half-baked intellectual.” He then proceeded, point by point, to address what he termed “the most reckless amongst the tangle of reckless comments spewed by Femi, a character who with each punch of his keypad stresses his severely unwell conditions of logorrhoea, delusions of enlightenment, history and sociology – amongst others.”
Below are Okafor’s words:
FEMI AND HIS SEVERELY IGNORANT LIES:
•Femi Lies About the Yorubas Being Nigeria’s Earliest Graduates:
From his myopic bubble Femi FaniKayode claims the Yoruba were the first to acquire Western education; the first ever known record of a literate Nigerian in the English Language is the narrative of an Ibo slave who regained his freedom and documented his life history as a slave from the time he was 11 years old in present day Ibo land till the time when he gained his freedom in the middle of the 18 th century. He later married an English woman and had 3 children. He died in 1795.
Femi, a basic Google-research will do you good here; check out the name, Equanoh OLAODAH. Further Femi claims that the Yoruba were the first lawyers and doctors in Nigeria. This is again a big falsehood. The first Nigeria doctor was an Effik man Silas G. Dove who obtained a medical degree from France and returned to practise medicine in 1840 in Calabar. This fact can also be verified from historical medical records in Paris.

I would also ask that you google the name BLYDEN – Edward Wilmot BLYDEN – an educated son of free Ibo slaves who by the mid-19th century had acquired sound theological education. He was born in Saint Thomas in 1832. He is one of the founding missionaries that established the Archbishop Vining church in Ikeja. Before the next time you succumb to your long-running battle with logorrhoea, Femi please do some research.
What about the third president of a free Liberia – President J JRoyle – again, a man of Ibo descent. Please take some time to do some research so that we can discuss constructively. It is wrong to peddle lies to your people. It is academic fraud to knowingly misrepresent facts just to score cheap points with people who do not have the discipline to do research and accept anything you pour out simply because they say you are well educated. To again quote the great Nobel Prize Winner in Economics Joseph Stiglitz; Femi fits into the category of third rate students from first rate universities with an inflated sense of self-importance. Let’s go on!
Who was the first Nigerian Professor of Mathematics – an Ibo man – Professor Chike Obi – the man who solved Fermat’s Last Theorem. He was followed by another Ibo man, Professor James Ezeilo, Professor of Differentail Calculus and the founder of the Ezeilo Constant. Please do some research on this great Ibo man. He later became the Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria Nsukka and one of the founders of the Nigerian Mathematical Centre. Who was Nigeria’s first Professor of Histroy – Professor Kenneth Dike who published the first account of trade in Nigeria in pre-colonial times. He was also the first African Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan. Who was the first Professor of Microbiology – Professor Eni Njoku; he was also the first African Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos. Anatomy and Physiology – Professor Chike Edozien is an Asaba man and current Obi of Asaba. Who was the first Professor of Anatomy at the University College Ibadan? Who was the first Professor of Physics? Professor Okoye, who became a Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1960. He was followed by the likes of Professor Alexander Anumalu who has been nominated for the Nobel Prize for Physics three times for his research in Intermediate Quantum Physics. He was also a founding member of the Nigerian Mathematical Centre. Nuclear Physics and Chemistry – again another Ibo man – Professor Frank Ndili who gained a Ph.D in his early ’20s at Cambridge Univesity in Nuclear Physics and Chemistry in the early ’60s. This young Asaba man had made a First Class in Physics and Mathematics at the then University College Ibadan in the early ’50s. First Professor of Statistics – Professor Adichie who’s research on Non-Parametric Statistics led to new areas in statistical research. What about the first Nigerian Professor of Medicine – Professor Kodilinye – he was appointed a Professor of Medicine at the University of London in 1952. He later became the Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria Nsukka after the war. What about Astronomy – again another Ibo man was the first Professor of Astronomy – please, look up Professor Ntukoju – he was the first to earn a double Ph.D in Astronomy and Mathematics.

Let’s go to the Social Sciences – Demography and statistical research into population studies – again another Ibo man – Professor Okonjo who set up the first Centre for Population Research in Ibadan in the early ’60s. A double Ph.D in Mathematics and Economics. Philosophy – Professor G D Okafor, who became a Professor of Philosophy at the Amherst College USA in 1953. Economics – Dr. Pius Okigbo who became a visiting scholar and Professor of Economics at the University of London in 1954. He is also the first Nigerian Ph.D in Economics. Theology and theological research – Professor Njoku who became the first Nigerian to earn a Ph.D in Theology from Queens University Belfast in Ireland. He was appointed a Professor of Theology at the University College Zambia in 1952.

I am still conducting research in areas such as Geography where it seems a Yoruba man, Professor Mabogunje, was the first Professor. I also am conducting research into who was the first Nigerian Professor of English, Theatre Arts, Languages, Business and Education, Law and Engineering, Computer Technology, etc. Nigerians need to be told the truth and not let the lies that Femi Fani-Kayode has been selling to some ignorant Yoruba who feel that to be the first to see the white man and interact with him means that you are way ahead of other groups. The Ibo as The great Achebe said had within a span of 40 years bridged the gap and even surpassed the Yoruba in education by the ’60s. Many a Yoruba people perpetually indulge in self-deceit: that they were the first to go to school; to be exposed to Western education; that they are academically ahead of other Nigerian cultures of peoples. Another ignorant lie.
As far back as 1495 the Benin Empire maintained a diplomatic presence in Portugal. This strategic relationship did not just stop at a mere mission but extended to areas such as education. Scores of young Benin men were sent out to Portugal to study and lots of them came back with advanced degrees in Medicine, Law and Portuguese Language, to name a few.

Indeed, some went with their Yoruba and Ibo slaves who served the sons of the Benin nobility while they studied in Portugal. These are facts that can be verified by the logs kept by ship owners in Portugal from 1494 to 1830. It is kept at the Portuguese Museum of Geographic History in Lisbon.
Why then would several Yoruba people peddle all these falsehoods to show that they are ahead educationally in Nigeria? The true facts from the Federal Office of Statistics on education tell otherwise, showing that 3 Ibo states for the past 12 years have constantly had the largest number of graduates in the country, producing more graduates than Ondo, Osun, Ekiti and Oyo states. These eastern states are Imo, Anambra and Abia. Yet he calls Ibos traders. Indeed, the Igbos dominate because excellence dominates mediocrity – truth.
Let me enlighten this falsehood’s mouthpiece even further: before the civil war Ibos controlled and dominated all institutions in the formal sector in Nigeria from the universities to the police to the military to politics:

•The first Black Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan was an Ibo man
•The first Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos was an Ibo man
•The first Nigerian Rector of the then Yaba College of Technology was also an Ibo man
•The police was run by an Ibo IG
•The military as a professional institution was also run by elite-ilk Ibos.

Facts can never be hidden. To be first does not mean you would win the race; let us open up all our institutions and may the best man win. Let us not depend on handouts or privileges but on heard work. Let us compete and give the best positions to our brightest – be it Ibo, Yourba or Fulani, and then we shall see who is the most successful Nigerian.
I find it difficult not to respond to some of these long-held lies that are constantly being peddled by Yorubas. One is that the Yoruba have the largest number of professors in the country. I would again ask that we stick to facts and statistical records. The Nigerian Universities Commission has a record of the state with the largest number of professors on their records and as at 2010 that state is Imo State followed by Ondo State and then Anambra State; the next state is Ekiti and then Delta before Kwara State. I am sure you Yorubas are surprised. When you sit in the South-West do not think others are sleeping but I wish to address another historical fact and that is who were the first Nigerians to receive Western education. It is important that these issues be examined in their historical context and evidence through research be presented for all to examine.
I have continued my research for as the great sociologist and father of modern sociology – Emile Durkheim – put it, the definition of a situation is real in its consequence . What this simply means is that one must never allow a perceived falsehood to become one’s reality and by extension individuals who accept a defined position act as though the situation is real and apply themselves in that narrowly defined perspective.
Why is this important to state it is because for long the Yoruba have peddled lies that have almost become accepted as the truth by other Nigerians but it is important that we lay down the facts for others to examine and come to their own conclusion for facts are facts. Let’s go back to education. Historically, Western education resulted as a product of indigenous ethnic groups interacting with the whites through trade. The dominant groups sold slaves, ivory gold and a host of other products to their European counterparts in exchange for finished goods – wine, tobacco, mirrors, etc.

The Bini who were the dominant military force from the 15th to the 19th century raided and sold other ethnicities to the Europeans. Top on the list of those they sold were the Yoruba, Ibo and Igala. Various other ethnicities suffered as a result of the Bini military expansion. And the Benin Kingdom stretched from present-day Benin up to what is now geographically referred to as Republic of Togo. Indeed, the influence of the Benin Empire extended to the banks of the river Niger to present-day Onistha. There are huge Yoruba settlements in the Anioma part of Delta State who fled Yoruba land as a result of these attacks and constant raids. Yes, there are Yoruba people who are currently living with Ibos in the Ibo-speaking part of Delta and they are full citizens of the place no one refers to them as strangers and there is no talk about the Ibos being the host community like we hear from the Governor of Lagos State. But let me return to research. Slaves were moved from the hinterland to the coast and many were sold through Eko to the New World. These slaves were the first to encounter the Europeans and by extension their way of life – this included education in a Western sense. The Bini King had taken pains to establish a diplomatic presence in Portugal and the relationship developed into areas that extended beyond trade in the late 15th century and lasted well into the early 19th century. Scores of young Bpni youth were sent to Portugal and studied there, coming back with advanced degrees in various disciplines. The next set of people to receive Western education were the slaves themselves. Some of them managed to buy their freedom and develop themselves further.


For the Ibo it does not matter who your father is; the question is: Who are you? Who was Obasanjo’s father? Was he the most educated Nigerian? I am sure the answer is no. Yet this Great Nigeria led this nation two times as a military Head of State and as a civilian President. What about GEJ? Who was his own father? Was he the first Nigerian to go to London? The answer is no. In fact, he had no shoes, yet he is fully in charge. So it does not matter if your father was the first Lawyer or first Doctor in Nigeria but rather what matters is what an individual does with the talents the Almighty has given to him. Let us open up Nigeria for competition. That is the solution to our problems. Those who want privileges keep reminding us that their fathers were the first to go to school in London. Every generation produces its own leaders and champions. Like Dangote who is the biggest employer of labour in Nigeria today and the richest man in Africa. Was his father the first to go to study in London? Yet he is the master of people whose parents gave them the best. My brothers, the answer to the Nigerian problem is that we should establish a merit-driven society. “I get am before” no be property.
http://www.newsexpressngr.com/news/detail.php?news=2547

Inside Innoson Motor Manufacturing Plant Nnewi Nigeria - World's First Black-Owned Car Manufacturer

Pubblicato in data 20/ago/2013

The youngest among six children, Chief (Dr) Innocent Ifediaso Chukwuma (OFR), was born into the family of Mr & Mrs Chukwuma Mojekwu of Uru-Umudim, Nnewi, in Anambra State, without the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth. But, what he lacked in affluent parental background, he made up for with intelligence, hard-work, discipline and business acumen - qualities that have continued to interplay remarkably in his many ventures.

In February 2007, Chukwuma embarked on what some analysts perceived then as a mission impossible, when it incorporated INNOSON Vehicle Manufacturing Company Limited (IVM), to produce sundry commercial automobiles, utility vehicles and passenger cars, in collaboration with a consortium of Chinese auto manufacturers.
With the public display of some of the vehicles at the 2nd Nnewi International Auto Trade Fair held at the Beverly Hills Hotels (Gabros Sports Complex) in the last quarter of 2009, IVM did not only silence the critics, but made a bold statement about its readiness to achieve the avowed mission of being the first (indigenous) auto maker to produce truly Nigerian vehicles that are affordable and reliable.

IVM is today a success story which has attracted effusive commendations and awards from various quarters, including the nation's seat of power. While opening the plant on October 15, 2010, President Goodluck Jonathan not only hailed Chukwuma for the courage of venturing into an industry many ran away from, but also assured him of government's patronage from the government.

But even before the President's visit, IVM had attracted an official delegation from the Ghanaian government, which through a minister, dangled incentives before Chukwuma with an appeal to come over to Accra for talks on how he could set up a similar plant in the former Gold Coast.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ukk42wLeVpI&feature=player_embedded